Essence Goldman: CD, book release party

Published 4:12 pm, Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Getting your 2-year-old dressed, getting him into the bath, getting him to wear his seat belt, getting him to blow his nose ... Wouldn't the battle be easier if you had a song to go with it all?

That's how San Francisco singer and songwriter Essence Goldman came to write "A Dog Named Moo," one of many charming tunes from the album of the same title, which she'll perform Saturday at Green Apple Books in the Inner Richmond.

"I never intended to make kids' music," says Goldman, a sixth-generation San Francisco native who is better known for a folksy pop vibe in her first three albums. That all changed when she had her son, Rhys, who is now 5 1/2.

"He is so highly spirited and it was difficult to get him to do things, to get him to wear clothes, take a bath. So I started to sing about everything," she says. "I thought I was just being silly, but I had a few friends who said, 'That is so catchy, you should record that for him, so he has it for when he is grown up.' "

So Goldman began making demo recordings of the tunes and brought them to a songwriting group, where fellow songwriter Bonnie Hayes (who wrote two hits for Bonnie Raitt) encouraged her to make a children's album.

"I feel like with kids' music, less is more as far as production goes," says Goldman, who funded the album's production through a Kickstarter campaign. "I wanted it to feel like I was singing to my son, so it's very homespun - a ukulele, banjo and guitar, one-take vocals, not a lot of production."

"He said, 'Mommy, I love your songs, but I would like it even more to have a song about T. Rex,' " she says, laughing, as she recalls that he also wanted moving pictures to go with it. Goldman obliged by creating her first book, "T Rexxxx!" with illustrations by Elizabeth Carr, and a Claymation video with animator Steve Girard. It's the book's release, in fact, that is being celebrated at Green Apple Books, and you'll be able to buy it bundled with the CD "A Dog Named Moo."

"The whole project is dedicated and inspired by him," Goldman says. "I feel like he is my collaborator. Really it's about me wanting to be present with him and letting our adventures and play guide every aspect."